WOODEN BOY'S GIRL (pg version)
by LanaaLuthor
Summary: August/OC/ August and Michelle are in love, but he can't be completely honest with her. What if she followed him to Storybrooke? Can love really conquer it all?


**This K Version, but there i also M Rated available**

* * *

His love for her… he thought as they lay together.

He'd thought once there was nothing better in this world than debauchery and power. Then he'd met her and like in an instance everything had changed. It'd started revolving only around her. _Love, _that was the answer for everything. Every single lonely second, that strange emptiness inside, every single yearn for something that people didn't even realize... it was just a yearn for love.

But his love was half lie, because she had no idea who he really was and if she had she would've either called him crazy and walked away brokenhearted, or made sure they would lock him up.

That love would be gone someday, just like that, ripping his heart out. He knew the day would finally come, but he wasn't ready yet. He would never be ready, because with every single day he loved her more and more what kept making it harder and harder.

"I love you," she said straight into his ear what sent shivers down his spine.

"I love you too," he answered with rather husky voice. Something stirred inside of him exactly like every single time they were speaking those words to each other.

Were they really true? While he had no doubt about his love for her he couldn't be sure the other way around. She didn't know everything and she could never know…

"Are you ok?" she asked when looking up at his face. "You look worried."

"No, I'm fine, honey." He managed to fake a smile and gently stroked her auburn hair. "I love you…"

If he kept lying to her he would eventually turn back into wood, he thought. She would be only disgusted by that. All the love she was giving him would stop right then. There would be no coming back.

He also had to go to Storybrooke very soon… before it would be too late.

The boy had found her and brought her there as August had suspected would happen at Emma's 28th birthday.

But she was a skeptic, she needed something or somebody stronger than her son to push her in the right direction. She thought Henry just had a vivid imagination.

August had to finally keep his promise.

If it wasn't too late.

* * *

He was woken up in the middle of the night by an impossible pain in his left foot.

He barely managed to gently push Michelle aside and stepped into the bathroom where he collapsed on the floor. His body was writhing with pain, already bathed in cold sweat.

What was happening to him?

He didn't even have to think hard on an answer.

He _knew exactly _what was happening.

And then, just as suddenly as it started the pain stopped.

August remained lying on a floor for a moment, scared of looking down at his foot. Scared of what he might've found.

But then he just had to raise up. Michelle couldn't see him like that. He would not do this to her. If he had to hurt her after all it wouldn't be by telling her the truth. He was still scared that if he did she would run away with fear and disgust and that was something he could not stand. He would rather she hated him.

He slowly sat up and then took a quick glance down.

He was right. A part of his calf was already transformed.

It wasn't that bad yet. He could still walk. It wasn't all wood.

But he knew it wouldn't take long.

It was time to go…

* * *

After a quick shower August moved into the room as quiet as he could.

Michelle always was a deep sleeper, so she didn't wake up.

His heart ached even more than his leg had before when he was writing her a letter. His hand was shaking and he could not help it. He couldn't write it on his type machine, because the noise would wake her up.

"_I'm sorry I have to leave like this._

_ I made a promise a long time ago and I have to keep it._

_ I can't tell you more…_

_ Just know… I do love you._

_ I always will_

_ August"._

He left it on his pillow and while taking his small suitcase with him he walked to the door. When he opened it he turned to look at her one last time. His eyes already burning, but he was fighting tears as best as he could.

She sighed in her sleep and shifted so she was now hugging his pillow. The letter right next to her face.

That was it for August.

One strand tear fell on his cheek and he had to turn his head away.

He walked out of there and left.

* * *

_Sometime later…_

August was running out of options. He had no idea what to do to convince Emma. He'd tried, he really had, but… she'd remained stubborn and skeptical.

He started to think it was some kind of a punishment for him. He knew he'd chosen his life with Michelle over keeping his promise to his father, but then he'd thought he could reform. That he'd finally grown mature enough to manage to let go off the life that wasn't even meant to his. Now… now it was even worse. He'd left Emma, he'd left her to grow up in the system, so now she was the most realistic woman in the world. To her fairy tells were just that, simple tells for children, and there was no happy ending in the real world.

What was worse she even managed to poison his mind, so he started to think that she was right with the second notion. There were _no _happy endings in this world. He knew it from his own experience.

The pains were getting worse and worse. He ran out of options… He failed.

And now he could barely walk, because of his wooden leg.

"August?" he suddenly heard somebody calling his name from behind.

He was just hobbling on the street, trying to get to his room from Granny's where he'd eaten his breakfast.

It was impossible. It couldn't be, he thought.

He turned round slowly, carefully not to lose his balance.

And then he saw her.

She stood there looking like an angel, her auburn hair burning in the sunlight, her face so beautiful, so radiant. She wasn't smiling though, she was hurt, concerned and scared.

"What happened to you?" she asked while looking down at his leg.

"Michelle…" his voice dry, shaky.

How had she found him?! Why had she done this?!

"I came here for the truth, August," she said and this time there was nothing caring in her voice. "I need some answers. You just… left. You just walked out on me and yet you wrote you loved me! I don't understand, August!"

"Why did you have to come here?" he asked and then… something stuck him. "_How?"_

"What do you mean how?" she asked quite confused. "You know I'm good at finding things and people."

"Yeah, but… how did you manage to get to this town?"

She looked at him like he was crazy.

"In my car? Driving?"

"Wh…" he stopped. There was a bench nearby and he just hobbled over there and fell on it.

"What happened to you? Are you sick? Is that why you left?" she kept asking and came closer to sit by his side.

He looked at her and it took all his control not to grab her and kiss her. He'd yearned for her all this time he'd been away and now… now she was there. She was real. And she managed to enter the Storybrooke.

And it hit him.

_No strangers were coming, but… _love had the power to break any curse.

"You really do love you, don't you?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"I don't understand. I've told you that a number of times…"

"But… I wasn't honest with you. I didn't tell you the whole truth about me. I couldn't. I was sure if I had you would've stopped feeling it."

"I'm tired, August," she sighed. "You know how much you've hurt me? You know what I've been through? How hard it was to find you? Hell! How devastating it was to wake up and instead of your warm body find that stupid letter?! I demand answers to everything! If you love me then why did you leave me?!" "Because we don't belong together, Michelle. I have a mission here and I have to make it right."

"What kind of a mission?!"

"I'm not from this world," he said carefully.

"Do you want to tell me you're not human?" she asked with amusement in her eyes. "So what are you? An alien?"

He couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

"An… alien?" he laughed.

"So no then," she said. "August, you of all people should know that I'm open minded. Whatever it is you can tell me. Trust me."

It was true that Michelle was a person of faith, a complete opposite to Emma. Sometimes August just wished Michelle was Snow White's daughter. It would make things a lot easier. But real life didn't work that way and after what he'd done he couldn't expect it to be easy to fix things.

"You think I'm crazy," he finally said.

"Try me," she pleaded and covered his hand with hers. "What happened?" she asked while stroking it gently. "It's… kind of harder than I remember. Do you have something under your skin?"

August sighed heavily.

That was it. Now or never. He could either keep lying to her and pushing her away even if she was what he loved most or he could just show her and risk it all.

It would mean losing either way…

He just bent down, hissing quietly as his leg hurt when he did it and pushed his left trouser-leg up.

Michelle looked at his leg and covered her mouth with her hand.

"What… what happened… did you… lose it?"

"No… at least not like you think," he answered.

"Then I don't…"

"Michelle…" he started, pulled the trouser-leg back down and looking into her eyes. "I will tell you something, but you have to promise me you won't interrupt me or leave before I finish ok?"

"Ok," she agreed.

"It will sound completely crazy, so you have to promise me."

"I promise."

* * *

"So… you want to tell me that I'm… I am in love with a freaking Pinocchio?!" she burst when he finished.

"Well… I told you you'd be disappointed."

"But… it's just…"

"…crazy? Yeah, I get that a lot. I should've never expected you to believe," he cut it out and tried to stand up.

He hissed with pain again.

"August…" Michelle quickly followed him. "Let me help you…"

He couldn't look at her face right now. He was afraid of what he might've seen there.

"August…" she repeated and put her arm around him to help him walk.

"Why are you doing this? You think I'm crazy," he said, his eyes on the road ahead of him.

"Where are you staying?" she just asked.

He pointed the building, so she helped him up there.

Ten minutes later they entered his apartment and he immediately fell on his bed.

"August?" she asked while seeing the pained expression on his face. "What's happening? How can I help?"

"What are you still doing here? Leave me. Just leave me alone!" he suddenly yelled at her while his body writhed with pain again.

"Oh God… What I can do? Tell me what to do to stop the pain!" she got to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Leave!" he kept screaming. "Leave! I don't want you to see me like this!"

_Vanity, _ran through his mind. Another human feature that was so pernicious. All he wanted was her to be there for him, but everything inside of him screamed not to let her see.

"I will not leave you!" she raised her voice as well. "Damn it, don't you get it?! I love you!"

He suddenly stopped writhing. The pain subsided, but he knew that only for a moment.

Their eyes locked on each other's. They both breathing heavily.

"Why?" he just asked, almost whispering.

"I just do. I don't think love is something you can actually expl…" and then her voice trailed off when she looked at his right hand. "Oh God… it's all true…"

He looked down as well.

His hand was wooden.

He turned his head away from it and from Michelle's face.

"Told you. Looks like there's no happy ending for us."

"Don't you dare say something like that," she told him, placing her hands on his cheeks and making him look at her again. "I love you, August… or… Pinocchio… I don't care about anything but you. I don't care where you came from or how you were created. All I care about is… well, you. You are more real to me than every man I know. So please… fight for us. Don't give up. What can I do to help you?"

His beautiful blue eyes were glassy now.

"I don't deserve this," he whispered and raised his healthy hand to her face to caress it.

"Well, I don't know where we would all be if we got what we really deserved." She smiled and bent down to capture his lips.

Soon she was lying on the bed right next to him, stroking his chest, kissing his face, just being there for him.

"What can I do?" she repeated.

"Nothing," the answer came. "Now it's all up to Emma… if she doesn't believe… we'll all doomed. Well, except you."

"I'll go find her then." Michelle jumped from the bed, but August stopped her.

"No…" and right after he caught her his voice broke. A new wave of pain was coming. "You can't… do… anything more…"

"Honey…" her voice faltered as well when she watched him suffer like that. "I need… I need to help you…" She put her hand to his face.

"You can't… I… I deserve this… every second of that… pain… I screwed up."

"No, you don't deserve it. You don't, because you can admit your mistakes."

In that very moment somebody knocked on the door.

"August…?!"

"It's Emma…" August whispered.

"Emma!" Michelle exclaimed. "There's still hope then!"

The door swung open and Emma stepped in.

"What's happening to you?!" She looked at him in shock. "And who are you?" She turned to Michelle.

"Michelle. Nice to meet to." Michelle stood up and walked over to her to shake her hand. "Emma, please… please, help him."

"What's happening to you?" Emma came closer to August.

"You can see it now. You believe." He managed to smile though the pain.

"Yeah, I do, but… how do I stop this?" her voice was terrified now.

"Break… the curse…" August said with difficulty.

"I'll try, I promise… but I've got to save Henry first and I need your help.

"No, you don't…"

"This is all too much… I just… talked to the Evil Queen and Rumplestilskin… about a quest to find magic… I can't do this, August, I can't! No normal person can!"

"I'm completely normal," Michelle interrupted with rather hard voice. "I'm not from some fairy tale world. I was born here! And yet I believed faster than you did! Emma, you have to save him! I love him!"

Emma looked at her.

"I… I can't…"

Yes, you can! You love your son, don't you? Well, I love August with my whole life and I can't imagine myself without him. Please, I beg you… at least try. Act!"

"Luckily for us…" August spoke to Emma, "you're not normal. You can save Henry. You… can… save… all… of…" while August was speaking the wood was spreading and he didn't finish. He turned whole.

"AUGUST!" Michelle screamed and got to the bed, shaking his body which was now hard, wooden. "AUGUST, NO! PLEASE, COME BACK TO ME!"

Emma's body shook, she was moved and also in pain. August was her friend. He was the person who'd done everything he could to make her believe, yet she hadn't when there had been time for that.

"I'm sorry," she said while placing her hand on Michelle's shoulder. "I will do everything in my power. I promise. I can't let him die. I can't let Henry die."

And after those words she left.

"I hope you will," Michelle whispered and cried, placing his head on her lover's wooden chest.

Her heart was broken and her lover didn't even have one anymore.

She just kept crying, couldn't quite wrap her mind around all of what had happened. Fairy tales were real? She was in love with one of their characters? Pinocchio? From all the characters she had to choose that one, the one that had the ability to turn into wood and leave her forever.

On the other hand she felt special. She didn't care about the wood thing, she cared about the person. She was probably the only human in this world who knew about this curse, who could participate in it. But for what price…?

* * *

Michelle thought it'd been hours since Emma had left.

She kept sitting by August's bed, kept watching him, but it was getting harder and harder. The heartache was also more powerful. She was afraid she would never get him back.

Then she started worrying about something else. What if the curse was broken and all those people would be transferred back to their world?

Michelle felt dreadful fear. What if _there was really no way they could ever be together?_

She wouldn't leave his sight. She had to see it on her own eyes. If they could never be together she had to make herself sure he would be alive and safe. And maybe happy someday…

She had to prepare herself for letting him go. She would do it from love if only he could find happiness again. If only he could find his happy ending…

And in that very moment when she realized how much did she really love him and what it was all about in true love, it happened.

Some kind of strange barrier ran through everything in the town, through her and August's body as well.

But when she looked back at him… nothing happened.

He was still a wooden figure.

It was too late.

The curse must've been broken, but he remained intact.

"Oh no…" Michelle moaned. "No! Please, wake up!" She took his face in her hands once more, her tears dropping on the wood. "Please, wake up! It can't be too late! I love you!" And then, the last thing she did before she would break completely was to put her lips to his wooden ones. "I love you. No matter who you are and what you're made of," she whispered against his mouth and kissed it again.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Instead of hard wood she felt soft lips. Human's lips.

She pulled away, looking at him, totally confused.

"August!" she yelled when she saw that he was back to normal. He was human again.

"Michelle…" he whispered softly and put his human hand to her cheek to wipe her tears off.

"How?" she asked completely amazed.

"True love kiss," he said. "It has the power to break any curse."

She just smiled at him with understanding and kissed him again.

"I love you… I love you so much…" he kept repeating. "You stayed. You believed. I will never let you go."

"And I will never let you go…" she said.

"This is home, right here," he told her while stroking her hair.

"Home…" she agreed.


End file.
